Social Sciences Protect Our Nation Act

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7106 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7106

    To require the Department of Defense to maintain a basic social 
                       sciences research program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2020

 Mr. Lipinski (for himself, Mr. McKinley, and Mr. Langevin) introduced 
   the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To require the Department of Defense to maintain a basic social 
                       sciences research program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Social Sciences Protect Our Nation 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The 2017 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering 
        and Medicine report on The Value of Social, Behavioral, and 
        Economic Sciences to National Priorities asserts ``Having a 
        fundamental understanding of how people and societies behave, 
        why they respond the way they do, what they find important, 
        what they believe or value, and what and how they think about 
        others is critical for the country's well-being in today's 
        global environment.''.
            (2) There is a national need for investing in diverse basic 
        research social science, and facilitating transition of those 
        findings to inform national defense priorities and actions.
            (3) In 2008, while giving a speech entitled ``National 
        Security: What New Expertise is Needed?'', Secretary of Defense 
        Robert Gates stated ``Too many mistakes have been made over the 
        years because our government and military did not understand--
        or even seek to understand--the countries or cultures we were 
        dealing with.''.
            (4) In response, the Department of Defense initiated a 
        basic social science research program to improve basic 
        understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral, and 
        political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic 
        importance to the United States.
            (5) The National Academy of Sciences found in their 2019 
        evaluation of the Department of Defense defense-wide basic 
        social sciences program that ``despite facing challenges with 
        establishing a stable, well-functioning organizational 
        structure as well as resource limitations, the program has made 
        important contributions'' and that the program has successfully 
        strengthened ties between the Department and the social science 
        community.
            (6) Maintaining a basic social sciences research program 
        provides the Department of Defense critical access to expertise 
        to inform cultural understanding, support technological edge, 
        counter adversarial social interventions, and understand 
        drivers to strengthen alliances and attract new partners.
            (7) Continued investment in basic social science research 
        is particularly crucial at a time when peer and near-peer 
        adversaries are increasingly employing elements of malign 
        influence, disinformation, and predatory economics in concert 
        with technological capabilities.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SOCIAL SCIENCES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall maintain a defense-
wide basic research program with an emphasis on diverse social 
sciences.
    (b) The Secretary of Defense shall include in the annual budget 
submission of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, United 
States Code--
            (1) a dedicated budget line item for defense-wide basic 
        social science research; and
            (2) basic research funds from each of the services 
        dedicated to social science research.
    (c) Report.--Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall report to the House Armed Services 
Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee on the organizational 
structure of the defense-wide basic social science research program. 
The report shall include--
            (1) the responsibilities of the Under Secretary of Defense 
        for Research and Engineering in collaboration with the Under 
        Secretary of Defense for Policy in joint oversight of the 
        program;
            (2) the role of each of the services in coordinating with 
        the program; and
            (3) efforts to align the program with the Department's 
        Science and Technology roadmaps and the National Defense 
        Strategy.
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